Throwing out my opinion on what I love. Stop and listen, like you know you should.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Hammer Time?

Sorry could help myself on that one. Mike Flores made a recent point about planeswalkers "Look at all the big planeswalkers ... The first one was Garruk Wildspeaker, adopted by the State Championships immediately after Lorwyn's release and a Pro Tour winner before season's end. Then there was the first truly format-dominating planeswalker, Ajani Goldmane—powerhouse in White-Black Tokens, excellent in all the Windbrisk Heights decks, from Green-White Tokens to White Weenie Kithkin. Ajani Vengeant. The bridge: awesome in control, awesome in creature decks aplenty against control. The clunky Lightning Helix against red decks, and the only Lightning Helix we have had in Standard. Yeah, yeah yeah ... Ajani Vengeant was red (but not really). If you look at the decks in which Ajani Vengeant was good, it was basically green and maybe blue.This year's darling planeswalkers, Jace, the Mind Sculptor and Elspeth, Knight-Errant; both allegedly the "best" planeswalker in Standard at one time or another according to different pundits / Premium deck designers. See a trend here? They all cost four. Even Nissa Revane—who surrounded herself with Nissa's Chosen, Leatherback Baloths, and Wolf tokens in the Eldrazi Green days (before blending back into the shadows)—costs four." Before reading this article I had never considered it, all the 'good' Planeswalkers cost four mana? Seems true, Jace Belern is probably the exception at his three. Now for Red comes around Koth, The Hammer now in Red Koth comes around being very toolboxy. On that turn a Mountain can come swinging as a 4/4; or Koth can hop to One Loyalty, and cast a second four cost Red card like a Cyclops Gladiator dealing something around eight damage the next turn. Flores also took the time to point out the acceleration allowing you on turn five to be able to drop an Inferno Titan without Green to accelerate. Koth also sits with a decent "Ultimate" Ability giving you an Emblem to be able to Comet Storm every turn. What is an Emblem, Emblems are nifty little things that give things you control nifty little abilities. So far only three cards deal with Emblems; Elspeth, Koth, and Venser nothing else can give, or effect Emblems. Where do they go, Emblems go into the "Command Zone" where Archenemy Schemes, Planchase Cards, Vanguards, and EDH Generals go. Thoughts of Koth toolboxing makes me happy, in a world that has long since crushed my dreams. I am currently breaking up the later half of The Darkness for YouTube upload, so new parts are sure to come soon enough.